See Clearly Through the Smoke
by AsterEris
Summary: I thought I was going to die. But I am alive, and my journey is far from over. Smokepaw fell down the gorge...but he lived. He nurses himself back to health, and soon meets OwlBand, a group of mountain cats. They are kind, but they have a secret..R
1. Chapter 1

I could feel myself hit the rocks. I _know_ I felt hem. But I didn't die. No, I was alive. I lay there, unconscious, my heart beating faintly in my chest, on the cool hard ground, stars pulsing in my head. But the stars were just stars…right? It must have been a dream. Dead cats don't dream though. So it was real. The stars began to form shapes…the shapes of cats that I knew. Raggedstar, Clawface, and even Whitethroat, the cat that had been killed by a monster. He was _long_ dead. And now here he was, walking towards me. In a dream. Even though I _knew_ I should be dead.

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I woke up what seemed like days later. I don' actually know how long I slept. It could have been forever, except for my dream…that's what woke me up! Those cats…they were talking to me, and they told me to get up! Get up, Smokepaw! So I did. I'm up. I'm up. I'm not up. I'm…not…up…

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I'm awake, again. My leg is stiff and doesn't bend. It must be broken, but it doesn't hurt – yet. The side of my head is caked in dry blood, and some of my ribs must be cracked. I can feel blood in my eye, and it's puffy, so I must have a cut there. I hope I'm not blind. I don't know what I would do if I was blind. I'd never get to be a warrior if I was…oh…blind…don't feel…so good…

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Okay, okay, I'm really awake this time. And this time I can see. Huh. Must have been a sleep for a while. I bend my neck to lick my wounds, and stifle a grunt of pain as every kink in my neck is pulled out painfully. I stretch, whimpering as my cold, sore, muscles strain. Hm. I need to do some running. But not yet. Can't run yet. I swipe the blood off of my face, and soon, I'm glad to say, I can see out of my eye. I'm not blind. I'll be a warrior after all. Oh StarClan. Oh…StarClan…my Clan! Where are ShadowClan? I fell…they…they must have gone on to the new forest. Without me. I won't ever be…a….a…a warrior…oh StarClan…

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I think I can stay awake this time. Yes, I have to. My eyes are fine, but the cut on my cheek still stings. I can breathe more easily now, so my ribs must be healing. Hm. I wonder how long I've been out of it. Must have been a long time. I can walk…sort of. My leg still hurts, but it seems to be healing as well. As for he rest of my cuts and scrapes…they're scars, now. I look I've been eaten by a dog and spit out again. Oh well, better than being dead.

Now, to get out of here. All around me are rock walls. I don't think there _is _a way out. That's too bad, because I'm alive and all…wait! There it is! A _hole_ in the _wall_. Yes, here I come, hole-in-the-wall! Ouch, ouch… that hurts, leg…hurts…hurts…a lot…

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Hey, look at me! I'm about five inches close to the hole in the wall! Yippee! Hooray for me! Maybe, if I just get a little closer…yes! Yes, I made another inch. Hey, I think I can walk…this is great! My leg doesn't feel so bad any more. Let's give it up for Smokepaw, who survived a thirty-foot fall! Oh, this is just wonderful! I can walk!

I shuffle closer to the tiny gap in the wall, all of my senses on full alert. I smell rock. I hear rock. I taste rock. I feel rock. Perhaps I should rename myself Rockpaw. Then everything would be rock. Oh joy.

I am at the hole in the wall. It is a small gap, barely big enough for me to crawl though, but I think I can manage. I have to manage. I curl my tail, determined to make it through the other side of this small rift. I put one paw into the gap. Cool air ruffles my fur, and I shiver, partly because of the breeze, ad partly because of fear.

The fissure is narrow, but I have gone days without eating since my fall, and I can fit through – barely. It's tight. The rock walls press in on all sides but the top, where I can look up and see a clear, blue-gray sky above me. I tremble slightly. I am trapped in this crack – I don't even think I could back up if I wanted to. There is no way out. I must go forward. Paw step by paw step, I make my way through the slit in the rock, keeping my eyes and ears forward, my claws scrabbling at the stone.

I can tell that I am going slightly up hill, but I can't tell if that's good or bad. I can see a small sliver of light ahead, which means that this hole ends, but how soon? I don't know how much farther I can go. I can't very well fall asleep inside this hole, but I'm already tired. I think I can go on…I have to….

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**Don't worry, the real action starts…now!**

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I reach the end of the tunnel at sun-high. Before me lies a rock ledge, and I jump onto it gratefully, almost forgetting about the throbbing pain in my leg, and the ache in my chest.

The sun beats down upon my dark gray fur, loosening my muscles. I stretch luxuriously, relishing the light and the warmth. After a moment of basking in the sun and the satisfaction, knowing that I made my way out of the fissure, I blink my eyes and take a deep breath. My journey is far from over.

I take a step to the edge of the ledge and peer over the lip. Wind billows in my face, but I stand my ground. Far, far, below me I can see the ground, and beyond it a river that snakes through many forests and Twoleg Places, and many Thunderpaths that criss-cross each other everywhere. I scramble back, by breath coming in shallow gasps. There is no way to escape this new prison. I am stuck here for good, it seems.

And then I hear them. At first it is just a distant yowling, that I claim to be my imagination. But it gets louder, and even I am not so deaf as to notice the cries of a cat patrol. A shiver runs along my spine.

"Stop!" comes a loud yowl from above me. I dare not move, and my heart pounds in my chest. "The scent comes from here."

A moment later a feel sharp claws dig into my shoulders and I am flung to the ground, with barely enough to time to screech in surprise. The cat on top of me pins me down.

"What are you doing, intruder?" comes a hiss in my ear.

"I…I feel into that gorge and broke my leg. I've finally healed and…" I couldn't think of anything else to say. There is a silence for a long moment, than another cat speaks up.

"Can you walk now, stranger?"

"Not far, but well enough," I reply, nervousness making my voice crack.

"Then come."

The weight on my back is lifted and I struggle to my feet, whirling around to face my captors. There are five cats, each of them thin with wiry muscles. My attacker stands beside me, a wary expression on his face. He is tall and skinny, with sleek gray fur and large amber eyes.

"Do you have a name, stranger?" asks a dusky gray tom, catching my eye.

"My name is Smokepaw."

The tom lifts his head sharply, and his eyes narrow. A cat behind him blinks, and exchanges glances with his companions. I swallow, clenching my teeth.

"Do you know of the cats from the forest? They have names similar to yours."

I freeze, my breathing ragged. _He knows about ShadowClan? And my friends?_

"I am a member of the Clans," I meow, a new edge to my voice. Again, the group mutters to each other. I shift my weight from foot to foot, the fur along my neck bristling.

"We have heard of these Clans you speak of. If you wonder, Smokepaw, we have not met them. We are…in touch, with the Mountain Tribes, a Band of cats who claim this land as their own. They seem to know about your…'clans'," says the tom, with a hint of contempt and some anger layering his voice.

"Then you know where my Clan is heading?" I ask eagerly, excitement causing my tail to swing back and forth.

The cats hesitate, then a new voice replies, "No. We do not." The speaker is a small tortoiseshell she-cat, standing in the shadow of one of her larger colleagues. My stomach sinks.

"Oh," I mew lamely, shuffling my paws.

"It is time that we introduced ourselves," mews the gray tom, straightening and giving the she-cat what seems like a warning glance. The tortoiseshell dips her head, and shifts her eyes away from me, as if she is embarrassed.

"I am Stormcloud. The tortoiseshell is Dawn, the thin gray is Riverbed, the white is Fogbank, and the brown is Mudslide. We are members of a Band called OwlBand. There is also CrowBand, HawkBand, and SparrowBand. Come, we will take you o our leader."

They all rise to their feet. I prepare myself for whatever they may do. I watch with wide eyes as one by one, they take a flying leap off of the edge of the ledge. I close my eyes as Dawn disappears over the lip, waiting to hear the sound of a cat's body crashing to the rocks below. But there is nothing, only the whisper of the wind. _Do they fly?_

With tentative steps I crawl to the edge, and after a moment's hesitation, I stick my neck out and look down. Below is another rock spur, and there sits Stormcloud, his companions sitting around him. With a gasp I pull back.

Moments later, and with a yowl of surprise from me, Mudslide drops from the mountainside above me. I jump back.

"How did you climb up…?"

He laughs in a deep, rumbling away, that is somehow claming. Then he meows, "You have much to learn, forest cat. Look over the edge."

I comply, crawling once again to look down at Stormcloud and the rest of the cats sitting on the ledge below. Fogbank wears a smug smile that I know is directed at me.

Mudslide comes to my side. "Do you see the nicks in the rock, that run all the way up the mountain?"

I am about to say that I don't, when I notice a series of notches carved into the smooth rock that lead up and up, as far as I can see. "Yes," I answer, perplexed.

"Watch," he growls, laughing. He launches himself off the ledge, and gracefully alights beside Fogbank on the shelf below. It seems as if his legs buckle when he collides with the stone, but then he, springs back. His legs have absorbed the shock. I marvel at how much muscle must be packed into those thin limbs.

A second after landing he leaps away again, his paws fitting neatly into one of the notches. He flows steadily up the mountainside, as if he a stream flowing uphill. In minutes he is at my side once again.

"See? It is not hard. You will learn." He disappears.

"Come down, Smokepaw!" I hear Stormcloud's voice. I jolt towards the border of the stone, my eyes blinking away my fear.

"Okay!" I shout down, trying not to let my apprehension show.

I flex my weakened muscles, and my thoughts are dragged to my barely healed leg. What if I slip? I could crash just as easily, and then my leg might never heal!

But I can't just stand here forever. It's jump, or starve. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and with a massive heave of effort, throw myself off the edge of the cliff.


	2. Allegiances

**Rules of the Bands****: Must Read to Understand Story!**

Medicine cats are called Healers and have the first choice of a mate (allowed to have kits). They are highly respected.

Leaders make most of the decisions for the Clan. They are always at the head of every battle, and when they are appointed leader, they choose an heir, not always their advisor (deputy), and often times their son or daughter (no male/female preference, like Kings vs. Queens. Just whoever is strongest, which is sometimes girls, so whatever.).

Advisors do not always succeed their leaders. They are mostly there to give the Band's opinion on matters, and to act as a link between the leader and the Band. They are usually picked for intelligence or battle skill, and only teach the son's of Leaders, Healers, or Tellers.

Learners are the equivalent of Apprentices. They get a mentor the first day they venture out of the nursery, though that doesn't necessarily mean they begin training. Learners, on the day they leave the nursery, must choose whether they want to be a Guardian or a Hunter, or in other words, a fighter or a food-gatherer. Both are honorable jobs. They have a single word name until they participate in their Initiation Ceremony, and then receive what is called their True Name: the second part of their name. This name stays with them until the day they die.

Kit-mothers and Elders are the same as Queens and Elders, with no differences at all, except there is a cat called a Teller, or Teller of Ancient Tales, who tells stories to the Band and keeps the Tales alive. The Elders teach the new Teller, often with little help from the existing Teller. Tellers choose their successors the day a litter of kits is born, or if they don't like any of the kits in a litter, they have to wait until more kits are born. A wrong decision on the successor of a Teller means certain disaster for all the Bands. Tellers have free reign of all the territory, may come and go in any Band they please, and are not always in the camp. They are more like traveling storytellers, wandering from camp to camp, except when they have a Learner to look after. Many times, a Teller has more authority than a Leader, as do Healers.

The Bands have faith in what they call "The Ancient Ones". The Ancient Ones are a group of cats such as Tigers and Lions and Cheetahs etc., who used to rule the entire land, and now pretty much govern the Bands, through spiritual communication. If a rule lain down by the Ancient Ones is broken (though there are not many), the punishment is death.

The Bands will take in any wandering cat they find. That is: cats from other Tribes, cats from Clans, kittypets, and loners. There is a group of cats, like BloodClan, called the Bendtford relations. They are kind of shady and mysterious, and the only cat known to come from that place is Morning, or Morningtime of OwlBand.

Last but not least, the Bands control a huge amount of territory: the lower half of the mountains, which is CrowBand and SparrowBand territory, and part of the forest, which is HawkBand and OwlBand territory. The Bands do not communicate much with each other because they have such large territories, but they Gather at a place called The Ancient One's Hollow, every full moon, like the Clans, and discuss whatever is happening. The only Twoleg that lives near them is Hermit Brown, and old man who lives in a hut at the edge of SparrowBand territory with his dog Gregory, and studies birds. He never harms the cats, but they stay out of his way.

**OwlBand** (equivalent of ThunderClan)

**Leader:** Duststorm: pale brown tabby tom with amber eyes

_Learner: Briar_

**Advisor: **Stormcloud: dusky gray tom with amber eyes

_Learner: Dawn_

**Teller: **Sunray: very young yellow-orange tabby tom

**Healer: **Noontide: pretty ginger she-cat

_Learner: Ash_

**Guardians:**

Mistcloud: pretty silver she-cat

Waterdrop: long-furred gray she-cat

_Learner: Moon_

Stoneblock: stocky gray tom with many scars

Birdwing: thin tortoiseshell she-cat

Frostsheet: white she-cat with pretty blue eyes

_Learner: Smoke_

**Hunters:**

Bramblepatch: long-legged golden brown tabby tom

Treebranch: old brown tom

_Learner: Rock_

Grass-stalk: quiet gray she-cat

Mousetail: skinny ginger tom

Flowerpetal: beautiful red she-cat

Nighttime: black tom

Lightflash: handsome golden tom

**Learners:**

Briar: golden tabby tom (Noontide's only son)

Dawn: pretty tortoiseshell she-cat (Birdwing's daughter)

Ash: small pale gray tom (Birdwing's son)

Moon: pretty silver she-cat (Frostsheet's daughter)

Smoke: dark gray tom, formerly Smokepaw of ShadowClan

Rock: pale gray, almost white, tabby she-cat, formerly Rockpaw of EarthTribe

**Kit-mothers:**

Reedstem: slim, light brown she-cat with white feet

Kits: Lizard, Moth, Star

**Elders:**

Morningtime: black she-cat, formerly Morning of the Bendtford Relations

Coldstone: bulky gray tom, next in line for the teaching of a Teller

**HawkBand** (equivalent of WindClan)

**Leader: **Willowtree: pale gray tabby she-cat

_Learner: Snow_

**Advisor: **Volescuffle: ginger tom with scar across cheek

**Teller: **Skyvision: small, blue-eyed white she-cat

_Learner: Chasm_

**Healer: **Whitecolor: white tom

**Guardians:**

Mewlvoice: thin gray tom

_Learner: Blue_

Boneclaw: grayish-white tom

Flywing: long-furred ginger she-cat

_Learner: Pebble_

Stoneypath: mottled gray tom, formerly Stoney, a kittypet

Kestrelcall: beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat

**Hunters:**

Deepgorge: gray and brown spotted she-cat

_Learner: Thistle_

Poppyseed: ginger she-cat with white tail tip

Tallmountain: long-legged brown tom

Gorsebush: speckled brown and white she-cat

Lowridge: stocky gray tom

_Learner: Soft_

**Learners:**

Snow: dainty white she-cat (Skyvision's daughter)

Chasm: skinny tabby she-cat (Willowtree's daughter)

Blue: handsome blue-gray tom with amber eyes (Willowtree's son)

Pebble: small gray she-cat (Willowtree's daughter)

Thistle: tortoiseshell tom (Kestrelcall's son)

Soft: pale brown she-cat (Kestrelcall's daughter)

**Kit-mothers:**

Briskwind: slim, dark brown tabby she-cat

Kits: Thorn, Sleek

Poolripple: pretty silver-gray she-cat, formerly 'Pool filled with Ripples' of Blue Tribe

(kits not yet born)

**Elders:**

Shallowstream: thin silver she-cat

_Learner: Chasm (Teller's successor, also Skyvision's Learner)_

Yawningmouth: short-legged blackish-gray she-cat

**SparrowBand:** (equivalent of RiverClan)

**Leader: **Adderbite: brown and white-patched tom

_Learner: Aspen_

**Advisor: **Batflight: dark gray tom

**Teller: **Featherfall: tortoiseshell she-cat

_Learner: Dew_

**Healer: **Oaktree: brown tabby tom

_Learner: Rain_

**Guardians:**

Brighteye: yellowish-brown she-cat with blue eyes

Prettycoat: silver tabby she-cat

_Learner: Talon_

Goatjump: huge white tom

Slidingstone: thin gray she-cat

_Learner: Limp_

Hollowtree: gray tom

_Learner: Silver_

Mountainshadow: black she-cat

**Hunters:**

Wrenwing: white she-cat with gray paws and spots

Blowbreeze: small gray tom

Sandbed: pale ginger she-cat, formerly Sandpaw of RatClan

_Learner: Leopard_

Icewater: silver tabby tom

Lichenrock: gray and white tom

Grinface: brown tom with large fangs and a wide smile

_Learner: Wander_

**Learners:**

Aspen: black and white tom (Mountainshadow's son)

Dew: gray she-cat (Mountainshadow's son)

Rain: pale gray she-cat with white paws (Wrenwing's daughter)

Talon: dark gray tabby tom (Wrenwing's son)

Limp: gray tom with a crippled leg after falling down a steep hill (Wrenwing's son)

Silver: silver she-cat, formerly 'Silver Water that Runs down the Mountainside', of the Tribe of Icy Wind

Leopard: ginger she-cat with black paws and tail tip (Sandbed's daughter, only surviving of six kits)

Wander: black tom, formerly a loner from the forest (Ravenpaw of ThunderClan's son)

**Kit-mothers:**

Vinecurl: orange tabby she-cat

(kits not yet born)

**Elders:**

(none)

**CrowBand **(equivalent of ShadowClan)

**Leader: **Darklight: black she-cat

_Leaner: Pin_

**Advisor: **Ravenblack: sleek black tom

**Teller: **Swirlmist: beautiful silver she-cat

_Learner: Jay_

**Healer: **Curltail: gray she-cat with fluffy tail

_**Learner: Pond**_

**Guardians:**

Latesun: dark ginger tom

_Learner: Moss_

Cleverfoot: black tom with white feet

Sharptongue: small tortoiseshell she-cat with a bitter temper

Twist-tail: gray tom with thin, crooked tail

Lionmane: golden tom with thick fur around his neck

Cindersblow: small gray she-cat

Riverbank: white she-cat

_Learner: Red_

**Hunters:**

Firebright: handsome red tom with golden eyes

Wingflight: skinny ginger she-cat

Frogjump: pale brown tabby tom

_Learner: Blow_

Scalepelt: tortoiseshell tom

Snowfall: pretty white she-cat

Creekflow: silver she-cat with black stripes

**Learners:**

Pin: silver tabby she-cat (Swirlmist's daughter)

Jay: black tom (Darklight's son)

Pond: very dark gray tabby tom (Darklight's son)

Moss: pale gray tabby she-cat (Darklight's daughter)

Red: ginger tom (Wingflight's son)

Blow: white she-cat with gray paws (Snowfall's daughter)

**Kit-mothers:**

Fernfrond: pale gray she-cat

Kits: Cold, Robin,

Breezeblow: pale brown she-cat

(kits not yet born)

**Elders:**

Rockyledge: dark gray tom, formerly Rocky, formerly a kittypet

Nettlespine: tortoiseshell she-cat, oldest cat in CrowBand

**Other Cats**

Mo: fat gray tomcat, a loner

Cassiopeia: marmalade tabby queen, a loner (Mo's mate)

Hamlet: gray tabby tom (Cassiopeia's son)

Ophelia: ginger she-cat (Cassiopeia's daughter)

Beowulf: stocky gray tom (Cassiopeia's son)

Aristotle: orange tabby tom (Cassiopeia's son)

Gregory: tall black Labrador, lives at Twoleg hut on the edge of SparrowBand territory


	3. Chapter 3

I now stand before the mouth of an enormous cave, pressed between the flanks of Mudslide and Riverbed. I can smell the scent of many cats – all of them with the same scent as the patrol that surrounds me. I know that this is the OwlBand camp. I am surprised at how relaxed the cats beside me are – they walk through their territory as if there is no danger from other Clans…er, Bands… even though Stormcloud mentioned three other Bands. Perhaps they are at peace, though I can't see how that is possible, since I have grown up with the danger of living at close proximity with my enemies.

Stormcloud is at the head of the patrol, and I am somewhat comforted by his strong presence – I think that he must deputy, or whatever these Clans call it. I am confident that he will make a strong leader – if that's how things go in OwlBand.

"Do not be afraid, Smokepaw," Riverbed murmurs to me, and my name sounds strange on his tongue. _I am afraid, no matter what you say_, I want to tell him, but I don't dare. I still don't know whether I am prisoner or a friend to these strange mountain cats. Best not to anger them anyhow.

"OwlBand is merciful, and be thankful that you were not found in CrowBand territory!" Riverbed's words coax a nervous laugh out of Mudslide and the huge brown cat shifts beside me, his ears twitching.

"CrowBand…?" I ask, aware of how ignorant I must seem. But Riverbed doesn't seem annoyed, and answers matter-of-factly, "The worst behaved of the four Bands. They inherited the mire and the pine forest from the Ancient Ones – bad luck, I say, and rumor as it they have grown webbed toes and water-shedding fur." Riverbed chuckles as if he finds it somehow funny.

_ShadowClan!_ My mind leaps at the description, and I subconsciously flex my toes. I remember Stumpytail, my uncle, whose paws were unusually wide with extra skin in between his claws. My cousins inherited that trait, and one might say that they had webbed feet. I suppressed a laugh, and was surprised at myself, laughing at a time like this!

"Stormcloud has gone ahead to speak with Duststorm about your acceptance," came Fogbank's smooth voice, as she came to sit beside Riverbed. He let out a soft purr and pressed against her, and I raised my eyebrows slightly, turning away.

We wait there for another moment, and I am aware that Mudslide's huge bulk is sheltering me from most of the frigid breeze that blows up from the valley below. I burn with one question – _Acceptance? Does that mean that I am to be a member of OwlBand? What if I don't want to be?_

I work up my courage, and am about to open my mouth to ask Mudslide, when a pale brown tabby tom emerges from the hidden mouth of the cave that is hollowed into the mountainside. His deep amber eyes immediately find mine, and he surveys me like a hawk sizing up its prey before it dives in for the kill. I quiver beneath his gaze.

"Smokepaw…" His voice is loud, rough and commanding, and I am instantly alert, as are Mudslide and Riverbed beside me. "You have been through much these past days. Stormcloud has told me where he found you, sick and hungry, your bones cracked and broken. I have brought my Healer, Noontide, and Ash, her Learner, to attend to you, and then we shall have you eat." I can hear Mudslide's audible sigh of relief, and feel both toms relax considerably at the brown tabby's words. They bow their heads, and aware that every other cat does so as well, I bow mine.

The brown tabby nods approval. "You are dismissed, Mudslide, Riverbed. Fogbank, you shall go to Reedstem and care for her as you may."

I hear Fogbank grumble and wonder if Reedstem is an elder, or just a pesky queen. But then I wonder that it was Fogbank sent to do an apprentice's job, and not Dawn, who still sits a little ways away from us.

"Thank you Duststorm," Riverbed murmurs reverently, and then he and Mudslide pad away, leaving Dawn and I vulnerable before the great cat that I now know as Duststorm, the leader of OwlBand.

"Noontide, Ash," Duststorm says suddenly, turning to face two cats who have appeared at the mouth of the cave, and I peer over his shoulder to try to catch a glimpse of them. Dawn frantically shakes her head, but I don't heed her warning. I see a beautiful ginger she-cat step from the shadows, and my breath catches. This is a Healer? A medicine cat? She looks fit to be a Queen, and the leader's mate at that. I hear Duststorm purr and press his flank against hers affectionately, and I suddenly wonder if this was not indeed some strange twist of StarClan's will, that medicine cats should be allowed to take mates here in this strange land, and Noontide is indeed a Queen…

Behind Noontide is a smaller, pale gray tom, who looks about the same age as myself. I guessed that this was Ash, Noontide's…Learner, whatever that meant. Probably the same thing as an apprentice…

"Greetings, Noontide. Ash, I am glad to see you well again."

The ginger she-cat smiles and presses her muzzle into Duststorm's ruff, purring loudly. She doesn't acknowledge the introduction, but Ash nods shyly, the bundle of herbs in his mouth swinging as his head bobs up and down.

Duststorm detaches himself from Noontide and comes to stand beside me, indicating that I am the one in need of healing. "This is Noontide, the OwlBand Healer, my mate, and mother of my son, Briar. This is Ash, her Learner, son of Birdwing."

I dip my head, aware that Noontide must hold a lot of authority in OwlBand.

"And who is this?" says Noontide airily, with a dismissive glance at me.

"Smokepaw of the Clans…he fell into the Great Gorge four days ago, and was rescued by Stormcloud this morning."

I watch, intrigued, as Noontide continues to demand information out of Duststorm, and gather that even being Duststorm's mate, the medicine cat has even more authority over her leader. I marvel at the strangeness of it, until Noontide finally comes forward to study me.

"Ash," she calls lightly, her eyes still on my foreleg. The gray tom comes slowly forward, and sets his bundle of herbs on the ground. Noontide's face suddenly softens, and she looks down on me kindly. "You have a fracture in your left foreleg, and two broken ribs. I will see to it that Ash sets both breaks and gives your herbs for the pain."

She turns to Ash and murmurs quietly to him for a moment, before padding away. Ash's face is blank with concentration as he comes forward, eyeing my leg.

"Fracture in the left foreleg, did she say?" he asks me quietly, his brow furrowed. I frown.

"Yes, that's what she said. Shouldn't Noontide be doing this?" I ask suspiciously, watching as he sniffs at his herbs. Ash looks up, startled.

"Noontide?" he asks, genuinely surprised. "But, she has her True Name! She's far above working with cats…she just tells me what to do," he meowed with a hint of scorn.

"You mean, she doesn't even do anything, even though she's the med - er, Healer?"

Ash raises an eyebrow. "Of course not! What do expect her to do? Put her dainty little paws on your mangy fur? No offense intended of course, you were very ill."

I nod, aware that my fur is matted and my bones stick out from beneath my patchy pelt. "But then she just sits back and orders you around? That's basically like _you're _the medicine cat."

Ash frowns again. "Certainly not. I'm just a Learner, and she is the Healer of OwlBand. She teaches me how to care for sick cats and directs me in the dressing of wounds and the setting of limbs. I _Learn_, mouse-brain, or are your _Clans_ made up of kittypets?"

I hiss, but Ash seems unperturbed. "Besides, without Noontide's guidance, I wouldn't be the accomplished Learner that I am today," Ash mews smugly.

I curl my lip but don't say anything else, not wanting to offend the cat that is caring for my throbbing leg. Ash places a short stick against my foreleg and wraps a long reed around both of them, binding the stick to my leg tightly, so that I cannot bend it. I am not surprised – this is what Littlecloud used to do when cats broke their legs back home – I choke slightly at the fond memories of the old forest.

"Well, that's done. I'll come and take it off in a moon or so," he meows.

I nod, not trusting myself to open my mouth.

"Okay, and what was that other thing she said? Two broken ribs? Ouch, friend, you sure took a beating."

I nod and grimace as his paws press against my chest. He shakes his head, his tail twitching.

He carefully chews up a pulp of a few of the herbs and shoves it down my throat, even though I'm pretty sure that he was well aware that I could have swallowed with my own free will.

"That should keep the pain away and ease your breathing," he meows to me when I have successfully downed the herbs.

"Other than that there's not much more I can do for broken ribs. They'll heal pretty fast though, if you don't fight too hard."

Without another Ash gathers up his remaining herbs and pads away into the mouth of the cave. I watch him go, annoyance flickering in my heart.

"Does your leg hurt, Smokepaw?" comes a small, soft voice. I jump, suddenly remembering that Dawn is still there.

I gather my scattered thoughts, and meow gallantly, "No, not very much."

She smiles sweetly, and I can feel heat in my cheeks and nose. I shake away the feeling, angry with myself.

"I'm sorry, then."

I nod, drawing in the sound of her pity eagerly. I berate myself again – Dawn is an apprentice in some strange group of cats who do not follow StarClan and do strange things. I can't fall for her. But she is so beautiful and kind…

Dawn pads forward and rests her tail lightly across my shoulders, and the fur on the back of my neck stands up at her touch.

"Come on, I'll show you around the camp!" she meows cheerily, and disappears with a swish of her tail into the mouth of the cave. I follow, my paws tingling. I tell myself that it is fatigue, but I little voice in the back of my head tells me that it is because of Dawn.


End file.
